Welcome back to the Hogue Connection, In Memory Of…Criminal in the Family! I thought I would wrap up this story by dedicating this page to the members of the family who suffered most at the hands of my great uncle, Marion Newton Larner. Larner went to prison in 1938. A newspaper article mentioned that his three daughters were left in the care of his parents, William and Ida. This did not happen. In the 1940 census, the two oldest, Polly and Verna, were living with Bertie’s youngest brother Lonnie and his wife Anna Mae (nee Howard). They married in 1930 and were yet to have children. Joyce was living with Bertie’s oldest brother, Hubert, and his wife Velma. They had a daughter at home, Vonell, who was 12, three years older than Joyce.
Bertie Mae Bewley Larner – (18 Nov 1903 – 1 Apr 1938)
Pauline Fay Larner Land – (1 Jan 1924 – 29 May 2007)
Pauline, along with her sisters, grew up in Washita County before marrying Joseph A. Land (1916-1976) on 16 Aug 1945 in Commerce, Hunt, TX. They had three children and moved the family to Tucson, AZ sometime between 1950 and 1965. Pauline died in Tucson and is buried there at South Lawn Cemetery.
Verna Mae Larner Billingsley – (24 Jul 1925 – 9 Jan 1985)
Verna married Timothy Billingsley (1915-1999) on 29 Apr 1945 in Oklahoma City, where she spent the rest of her life. They had one son. She is buried in Sunny Lane Cemetery at Del City, a nearby suburb.
Joyce Gwendolyn Larner Cunningham – (7 Jul 1930 – 21 Oct 1984)
Joyce married Jessie Cunningham (1928-2005) on 1 Aug 1951 in Hopkins County, TX. They had three sons, Jimmy Lynn (1954-2002), Jeffrey Leland (1958-2004), and one still living. She died in Commerce, Hunt, TX and is buried in Sonora Cemetery, Fairlie, Hunt County.
All in all, Marion and Bertie Mae had 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. Those numbers are based on my personal research and the listings in The Larner Book. There are likely a few great greats running around by now, I imagine.
William and Ida, Epilogue.
William and Ida Larner remained in Dill City for a few more years. I believe they lived in Marion and Bertie’s house for a while. Ida’s newspaper interview happened in that living room. They were living in a rented home just down the street from the previously mentioned widow in 1940. Around 1950, or so, they moved out to California. I think they may have lived with their son Eldon and his wife Dorothy for a time. William C. Larner died 21 Sep 1955 (9 days before my parents’ wedding). Ida Novella Davis Larner died 7 Dec 1961. They are buried together at Mount Hope Cemetery in Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County, California.
Picture #1 – Larner Family Christmas – 1954 Back Row (Standing) L to R – Living Larner, Henry Hogue, Living Hogue. Middle Row – Martha Murray, Chuck Hogue, Unknown, Verble Larner, Effie Larner Finley, Faye Larner Hogue, Living Hogue, Dorothy Ensey Larner, Unknown (Possibly Winnie Larner Russell). Front Row – William C. Larner, Eldon Larner, Ida Davis Larner. Taken at Effie Larner Finley’s home in San Jose, CA.
Picture #2 – L to R – Ida Davis Larner, Faye Larner Hogue, Chuck Hogue, Future Blogger
Well, that brings us to the end of this long (hopefully entertaining) story about my criminal in the family. Any thoughts on it are welcome; please leave a comment on this blog. Thanks to the above-mentioned cousin for posting the nice pics of these people and sharing them. Maybe I’ll thank her directly someday. Ancestry really needs to work on encouraging collaboration. Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned for other family adventures!
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Criminal in the Family Sources
The Larner Book, R.A. Larner and M.L. Hicks, Hennington Publishing Co., 1987
Middletown Times-Herald (Middletown, NY) 8 Apr 1938, Page 1
Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, NV) 6 Apr 1938, Page 1
The Ada Weekly News (Ada, OK) 14 Apr 1938 , Page 1
The Hutchinson News (Hutchinson, KS) 7 Apr 1938, Page 1
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) 8 Apr 1938, Page 1
Longview News-Journal (Longview, TX) 8 Apr 1938, Page 1
The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, OK) 6 Apr 1938, Page 1
News-Record (Miami, OK) 8 Apr 1938, Page 1
The Oklahoma News (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 7 Apr 1938, Thu, Page 1 & 10
The Foss Enterprise (Foss, Oklahoma) 16 May 1935, Thu, Page 6
The Oklahoma News (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 8 Apr 1938, Fri, Page 6
Bristow Daily Record (Bristow, Oklahoma) 16 Apr 1938, Sat, Page 1
The Cordell Beacon (Cordell, Oklahoma) 13 May 1920, Thu, Page 2
Seminole Producer (Seminole, Oklahoma) 7 Apr 1938, Thu, Page 1
The El Reno Daily Tribune (El Reno, Oklahoma) 10 Apr 1938, Sun, Page 1
The Cushing Daily Citizen (Cushing, Oklahoma) 13 Apr 1938, Wed, Page 2
Pauls Valley Democrat (Pauls Valley, Oklahoma) 14 Apr 1938, Thu, Page 1
The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 10 Apr 1938, Sun, Page 18
The Foss Enterprise (Foss, Oklahoma) 26 Mar 1931, Thu, Page 4
The Foss Enterprise (Foss, Oklahoma) 9 Feb 1933, Thu, Page 2
Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) Mar 12, 1944, Sun, Page 66 & 67
The Oklahoma News (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Apr 7, 1938, Thu, Page 8
The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 8 Apr 1948, Thu, Page 1 & 2
Mike, you are quite the researcher. And all this during the COVID quarantine? Impressive.
The El Reno newspaper, was that during the Timmerman era?
Online newspapers are awesome. I think U.S. Brown ran the El Reno paper around 1900, so way before this event.
Very impressive research indeed!
It is so nice to connect with another cousin. And have a new friend.
You have really stirred up a great desire in me to learn more. I have already learned some amazing things about some other branches of my tree.
Thanks much, Ben Curtis Weatherford Oklahoma
Thanks, Ben. I’m happy we made the connection!
Really interesting stuff. I love the photo of young Martha and Chuck. Thanks for doing the research.
Thanks…it was a fun project.
Verna Mae is my Grandmother
Hi Randy…we are second cousins once removed. Thanks for reading my article.